Clive Owen Says Wife Makes His Balancing Act Easier

Clive Owen considers himself lucky to have never been made to choose between career and family, and in a new interview he gives “credit and thanks” to wife Sarah-Jane for giving him “the freedom” to pursue both. “I can honestly say I’ve never chosen a film because where it’s shot is convenient,” he tells the Independent.

Case in point? The 44-year-old father of two — Hannah, 12, and Eve, 9 — just returned from a three month film shoot in Australia, but even Clive admits his most recent absence was “tough” for all involved. “I make sure there’s a balance to it,” he explains. “I make sure that if I’m off doing a film that then there’s time off afterwards.”

“But all that juggling is made very easy because Sarah-Jane is so cool and gives me the space and the freedom. She has maybe once in my entire career at some point called and said: ‘You need to stop and take some time off. You’ve been away too much.’ I listened to her straight away and did that straight away.”

Ultimately, however, because it is Sarah-Jane who “keeps the family together” Clive says he’s “never felt constricted” or felt as though he had to decline a film role “because of family commitments.” Often Sarah-Jane and the girls will visit Clive on-set; During their trip to Australia the girls wore Liverpool shirts to please their dad, an avid soccer fan. “They always laugh at me,” Clive shares. “They don’t take me seriously in the slightest…they think I’m a joke.” He is first to admit that he’s enjoying the best of both worlds! “I feel I have everything,” he says. “I have a very solid, lovely family life and I go off and I make movies and completely fulfil that part of my life too.”

“I never take that for granted. I appreciate that and understand what a gift it is, but most of the credit is hers. I picked a good one.”